Andy Monfried's views on the Internet, Music, Family, and passion's that make life a trip....
People call me passionate, and energetic for things I believe in. Let's see if this blog can capture my focus on topics that are important TO ME. Might they be important to you?

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Value Creation in a Startup.....

I believe building a quality company from nothing, that creates value for both customers and shareholders is one of the toughest things to do in all of business.

Being a executive at a mid-size or large company, and making decisions when a company is already established, branded, and selling a quality product in the marketplace of ideas – is VERY DIFFERENT than building a business. I believe you make certain decisions based LESS on what is best for the business – but MORE about EGO and PERCEPTION.

I’m finding myself interviewing people for positions at my new company who have never been in a start-up firm. These candidates (that I’ve met) have always been in a company that has had more than 50 to 100 people, and have never had to come in to work, and worry about their respective jobs on a day to day basis.

They felt (the candidates) as though if they were doing a good job, their cube would always be there, the desktop computer would always be on, and the coffee machine will always be a few short strides away.

That’s not life in a start-up internet company.

No matter how hard you work ,there is no guarantee of anything. There is no guarantee of a job in the months ahead, no firm placement of a where your office may be, and certainly no perks that established companies have.

But, you know what you in a startup have, that larger companies yearn for from their employees?

Confidence, desire and a hunger to perform….

Confidence in leaving what they were doing at a established company, that may have evolved away from it’s roots – and transformed into a company that is well established, and stable – but LESS innovative than ever….. this is part of the phases that large companies go through in their evolution. (Some call it success) Many employees of these companies, see INNOVATION and the ability to perform, as taking a backseat to politics, ego’s and the internal “running scared” mentality, to protect their small empires. The percieved success, drives valuable employees to look elsewhere, and begin their quest to find a place where they can feel rewarded......

Desire – Desire to create and share new ideas in a open environment that breeds and welcomes thoughts and ideas. This is what a startup company is all about. Sharing, laughing and coming up with new thoughts, ways of solving problems, and communication. Larger companies sometimes lose this important internal fabric, of what made them great as they grow in headcount, and employees leave. Politics, Egos, and internal empires – (chain of command issues) replace the fostering and fertilizing of creative plans, fresh ideas, and innovation.

I respect Google and their internal structure more now than ever. They realize that as they grow, they still need employees to “think outside the box and be more than creative.” This has helped to breed employee satisfaction, and at the same time – assisted Google in building and executing against new products, that came from grassroots employee ideas. It's hard to believe that 5 years ago, they did not even have a ADVERTISING plan......

Many companies and their leaders stray from what made them great originally – (which is understandable as they grow and scale) but what is 110 % unacceptable, is to allow – EGO, AND POLITICS -- to crush creativity, and innovation completely…

These corporate leaders are nothing more than mid-level managers, with big titles, who have been taught that using slogans, symbols, and hallow half hearted communications, can somehow replace a SINCERE and GENUINE desire to create value, reward employees, and build confidence with REAL managers intent on making their staff feel GREAT. (they are more concerned with making themselves look good, and worry far less about their workers and their future)

All big companies go through phases, but much of what history has taught us in regards to corporate value DESTRUCTION, starts at the bottom of the company – and works its way north, to the top of the org chart.

As I hire and fill out the rest of my company, I can promise you that staying as focused and true to what helped us land our FIRST two customers, will be with me (and our corporate DNA) as long as I’m a leader. Putting every single employee FIRST, and making sure they know they add genuine value – and making sure they feel as though they are CREATING VALUE, through THEIR innovation is critical.

I encourage companies to create a “politics free zone” in their offices. A place where ideas can be shared with their managers in a arena FREE of ego’s and attitudes.

The “politics free zone” is any startup company – in their offices, in tight quarters…….and it is PRECISELY what creates value, and breeds employee satisfaction.

Job security is part of it, but from the other angle job rention is likely to be a lot higher too as people are getting recognized, utilized and rewarded.

All employees want is a chance to make a difference and be recognized when they do a good job. That's more likely to happen in a smaller venue. Thus, they're more likely to stick around, work harder and be more creative in the approaches they take.

well I applaud the sentiment and the writing. But the inference that politics and egos are absent from internet startup orgs doesn't jive with my own experience. I've been at 3 startups - all peppered with intense egos!

Start ups may be what many of us think are the answer to years spent in big companies ... we'll see. I'm making that move myself right now, having voted with my gut (and my feet, my desk and my paycheck) to leave the big corporate gig and go for something early stage.

There is no way, however, that any organization of more than one person will ever be free from egos and politics. This is the human condition. Start ups are no different than anywhere else.

To Brian, who forwarded the post to his boss -- good luck to you. You'll be gone by tomorrow.

Joey, you might not want this posted in a highly visible place above your desk -- post it in your home office.

Value is very subjective -- we all think we create value. Whether others understand this is another question.

Could be a fine post, could be a worthless pile of crap, and it all assumes that you can define 'value'.

Seriously, can you define 'value' from the perspectives of the shareholder, the Exec team members, the staff?

For example, reviews. Who gets a good grade? Why? Because they added 'value', right? So, how much 'value' did they add? How did that compare to the lowest? The highest? What is your system of measurement? Do the individual staff members share this same perception of measurement. How do you ensure that all of you are on the same page?

The last annonymous who was talking about defining value missed the point. Yes, there need to be metrics, but even more importantly it is an attittude, a desire to create it. That's what's missing. Not more evaluation forms.

This was a good post, but this guy is still a racist, ignorant piece of shit. The only way you can be against the palistinian cause or be so blatantly anti-muslim is if you're israeli, a hard-core born again christian, or a straight up racist hick. See his previous post below:

I just wrote a blog post about how horrible it was when I was doing consulting for huge corporations and the C-suite suits would pull projects from us with no explanation.

When you work with small businesses (or work in one) it's like you're hooked up to an IV that supplies ambition, adrenaline, intestinal fortitude and sheer will.

I hate to say it but it seems like it all goes down the tubes as companies get larger. This is why a kick-ass Advisory Board is so important. You need people who care about you and your company to tell you, "Hey, the direction this company is taking sucks and the culture is going to hell in a handbasket."

I only hope that with proper support, strategy and planning, my company can stay true to its original vision, mission and purpose - to help companies use technology to grow.

Politics are part of human nature. If there is no human connection between employees -- a way in which we look across the conference table and understand who are co-workers actually are -- ego's will form.

I think it's important to make sure your company also breeds an environment where relationships exist outside the 9 to 5, however that may look. (And that means no cheesy holiday parties.)

"All big companies go through phases, but much of what history has taught us in regards to corporate value DESTRUCTION, starts at the bottom of the company – and works its way north, to the top of the org chart."

My experiences have told me the opposite. The leaders of a company start to introduce bad and destructive policies which kills the employees spirit. After a while, they just give up. Yet the people at the top never realise they might have initiated the destruction.

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I like that part where you've said that ideas aren't built heavily based on what's best for the company but more on the ego. It sounds like taking a risk and going on with things confidently! In my opinion, companies which have a line of thinking like that will likely be more successful. As you've said, Google didn't even have a concrete advertising plan when it started.

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About Me

2 kids, and great wife...a fabulous support group called family.
I started a company called, Lotame. We focus on Social Media Inventory Solutions. In other words, we help publishers earn more money, and we help advertisers target more efficiently, IN THE FASTEST GROWING FORM OF MEDIA TODAY: Social Media. I'm learning alot about running a company for the first time, and executing successfully......it is adventurous and exciting.
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Worked for 6 years at Advertising.com in Sales. Opened NYC office for the company, and helped grow the business HUGE. I am super proud of assisting in the growth of the company, and it is a fabulous organization that I'm proud to say I helped build. The most important aspect of the company, is the people at Advertising.com. I'm thrilled to say I worked with the ABSOLUTE greatest group of people on the internet. It had a HUGE impact on me.
I am passionate and energetic for things/issues and people I care about...and everything else to me is mundane. I will try to make this blog about important topics on a daily basis around life, internet,music and other "things.."
I can be reached at (andy.monfried@gmail.com)